Temsa’s Increased Support For The American Market

Temsa recently announced that they are moving to a company-owned distributor for the American market. This is a substantial show of confidence in the American market as well as the Temsa products. Creating a new distributor for national support is a major undertaking and somewhat unique.

Those historians among our readers will remember that two of the three bus manufacturer national support networks were built slowly over several years for pre-owned coach sales. The third followed upon a dealer network. Temsa is essentially unique in putting together their own national distributor network virtually overnight. This obviously shows their concern for providing support and service for their customers as well as making a major commitment to this market.

Temsa History

Temsa already has decades of expertise with buses and years of experience on the American market. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Adana, Turkey. Temsa builds several models of transit and intercity coaches with about 75 percent of production being exported to more than 66 countries.

The story behind Temsa in America starts more than a decade ago. Bus operators had been looking for a suitable long distance coach for smaller groups. Putting a smaller group in a larger bus was awkward, but there were no small integralcoaches on the American market. Yes, several mid-size body-on-chassis buses were available that were suitable for shorter trips, but operators were looking for a smaller integral coach with big coach amenities including underfloor luggage space, a restroom, reclining seats and air ride suspension.

Realizing that there was a need, the Temsa engineers put their small coach experience and design expertise to work and came up with their TS 35 model for the American market. With a length of 35 feet and a capacity of 38 or 40 passengers, it offered air ride suspension, underfloor luggage capacity, reclining seats, a restroom and other big coach features. Introduced to the American market in 2008, it soon became a hit with operators seeking an integral coach with big coach features for smaller groups. In addition to being less expensive to purchase, it also proved to be economical to operate.

After the TS 35 was on the market for a few years, some operators began asking for an even smaller coach. Temsa complied with their 30-foot TS 30 coach that was introduced in 2012. It offered a typical capacity of 30 passengers with the same big coach features and amenities found in the TS 35. The most recent development with the shorter coaches came in 2016 when Temsa introduced an enhanced version of the TS 35 known as the TS 35E. This was particularly noteworthy since it was the first time in about 39 years that a 35-foot coach on the U.S. and Canadian market was so successful that it was succeeded by an upgraded model.

Bus operators were so pleased with the shorter coaches that they asked for a full-size 45-foot coach from Temsa. This project started in 2011 and involved substantial input from American operators in a product committee. In 2012, the product committee visited the Temsa factory to view an early prototype and make suggestions and recommendations. Another meeting of the committee was held in 2013 to review additional changes. It was not until 2014 that this new TS 45 model was introduced to the American market. This brought the Temsa product line in the United States to three coaches of different lengths of 30, 35 and 45 feet.

Temsa’s Decision

In speaking with the Temsa staff and management, they offered eight different reasons why the decision was made to go with a company-owned distributor.

• This arrangement provides direct contact between the customer and the manufacturer. Hence, solutions come directly from the factory and not via an intermediate distributor.
• Working with a company-owned distributor provides customers with faster technical support.
• A company-owned distributor gives customers better service on warranty problems.
• Spare parts will come from the factory and parts availability will be improved.
• A company-owned distributor will be able to provide Temsa owners with more efficient mobile support and service.
• Parts pricing will be more competitive.
• A company-owned distributor will be able to more quickly react to customer needs and requests.
• This system will also provide customers with better online tools from training videos to online parts service.

Temsa North America Locations

Even as we write this, Temsa North America is already opening service, parts and support locations. In addition to a goal to be “Stronger than ever,” Temsa is also trying to be “Closer than ever” with plans to have five locations open in 2019. They will be located in the Southeast, Northeast, Midwest, Southwest and West. Each location will have a service truck to offer road-call assistance within a specified range from the service center. Each location will also have TS 35E and TS 45 coaches for sale with the 30-foot TS 30 coach available soon.

Temsa North America, Inc. is based in Orlando, Florida on approximately six acres. This location has four service bays, as well as a wash bay and a dump station. It also provides a parts warehouse with 6,000 square feet of space. Opening approximately late March is a Temsa facility in Burlingame, California. It is located only five minutes away from the San Francisco Airport and has four service bays.

Next is Egg Harbor, New Jersey. This facility will have four service bays and is located adjacent to the Atlantic City Airport. It is expected to open by the end of April. In addition, two more locations will open later in 2019. Included will be a facility in the Southwest states as well as a Midwest location in or around Chicago. Hence, Temsa North America expects to have five locations open by the end of the year with more to come as future needs dictate.

Each of these locations will provide warranty service as well as parts, repairs and regular service. A full inventory of Temsa parts will be stocked at each location. Service and repairs include but are not limited to preventive maintenance, HVAC, brakes and air systems, electrical systems, suspension and steering, bodywork and accessories including audio/video systems and 110-volt outlets.

It was pointed out that while these will be Temsa locations, they will also service other makes and models. Technicians will be trained on and certified on all coach systems in order to offer service in all manufacturers’ coaches.

Information on Temsa’s warrantly support is also available online at warranty.na@temsa.com.

Temsa North America Staff

Temsa has been busy putting together a staff for Temsa North America. Many of them have extensive experience and expertise in the bus industry. Here is a partial list of some of the new staff as of this writing.

Randy Angell, is the national sales manager. Randy has more than 15 years of experience in the motorcoach industry. He was previously employed by ABC Companies before joining CH Bus Sales who represented Temsa as a distributor. While with CH Bus Sales, Randy played a big role in the distribution and sales of several Temsa coaches into the West Coast and Midwest territories. Randy says “I am very excited about the sales team we have and are assembling. Temsa is a very large company with a vision for the U.S. that is very exciting. I am looking forward to our journey and our growth here in the U.S. We have many exciting things coming in the near future. We are committed to the U.S. market and are excited to be out there working and taking care of our Temsa customers needs.

”

Anthony (Tony) Mongiovi serves as a regional sales manager for Temsa North America. He is a transportation industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience with board-base operations and fleet maintenance experience for both public and private transportation providers. Mongiovi served as vice president of Northeast sales and service for CH Bus Sales prior to coming on board with Temsa North America.

Mongiovi started his bus career right out of college by working as a parts manager for DeCamp Bus, one of the oldest motorcoach companies. His 35 years in the industry includes 12 years as vice president of sales and service Northeast for ABC Companies, 18 years of sales and service and branch manager with Atlantic Detroit Diesel, and five years as branch manager with Johnson and Towers, a Detroit Diesel-Allison distributor. “Working with this Temsa team is going to be an exciting endeavor,” said Mongiovi. “I know we will provide our Temsa customers with a very high level of service going forward.”

Tim Guldin is the regional sales manager and will be selling Temsa coaches in the Southeast part of the United States. Guldin has some diverse bus experience in transit, coach and parts. He started in the industry in 1981 working for the material control department at SEPTA in Philadelphia on the transit side of the business. Guldin moved to the supplier side of the industry in 1986 by working in sales for Muncie Reclamation and Supply, which later became Muncie Transit Parts. In 1996 he was promoted to vice president of sales for the United States and was responsible for overseeing materials and procurement for Muncie.

More recently, Guldin moved to Florida to run the parts division for ABC Companies during which time ABC acquired Muncie Transit Parts. In 2012, he began selling Temsa coaches. Today he is responsible for selling Temsa coaches in the Southeast part of the United states. Guldin says “ I am very excited to be part of Temsa and truly believe that our future is bright. I am looking forward to getting back in front of my customers once again with a full offering of coaches and great support.” Having the direct support of Temsa as the manufacturer is extremely beneficial.

Wes Lefler is an account executive on the West Coast. Wes brings years of service experience from his previous employer of more than 13 years at ABC Companies. Lefler has worked for years assisting in the West coast growth of the motorcoach industry from working with the tech companies to local coach customers as well. Lefler has a very good name in the industry and everyone is excited to have him join the Temsa Sales Team. Wes said, “I am looking forward to the opportunity to get in with the Temsa group as I see great potential. I also see the strength and motorcoach choices that Temsa offers as a huge opportunity not only for me as a salesman, but for my customer base to expand off the selection that Temsa brings to this market. I am excited and looking forward to the future.”

Andy Byars can boast of 36 years in the bus industry and is Temsa’s new pre-owned sales manager. Byars started with Greyhound Lines in 1984 and spent 22 years managing various Greyhound locations. He then decided to move into a retail operations center and spent 11 years working for a motorcoach dealer as an operations manager. He then moved into fleet operations with All Aboard American Holdings as the corporate director of maintenance. From here he joined Temsa in 2017.

Byars has substantial experience in the motorcoach industry from service management to sales valuations. “I consider myself very knowledgeable in this industry and I am very pleased to offer my experience to Temsa North America and look forward to a very long and successful future.”

Ryan Angell is an account executive in the Midwest Territory. Ryan brings more than five years of experience to Temsa in his young career. Ryan most recently was employed by CH Bus Sales and spent time both in the Southeast as well as the Midwest. Ryan is young, eager and willing to be out there supporting his customers and he is considered to be one of the young talents on the Temsa sales team long into the future. Ryan says “ I am very excited to be part of the Temsa team. We have a bright future and I look forward to getting out and taking care of our customers like they deserve. Temsa brings a variety of offerings to the market and that is what I feel is a huge strength and one that eventually will give us a big advantage.”

Mark Santoyo is Temsa’s after sales and spare parts manager. Santoyo has been involved in the bus industry for more than 25 years. He started off in the industry for Greyhound Lines back in 1989 as journeyman technician. Since then he has worked on both sides of the motorcoach business as an operator and retail. Santoyo most recently comes from Coach USA as the western regional director. He says, ”I am committed to providing top rate customer service and quality repairs to provide the ultimate customer service experience.” He also mentioned that he is very excited to be part of the Temsa team and looks forward to the bright future of Temsa and all of their customers.

Neil Wells is the new national parts sales manager. Wells’ experience in the bus industry dates back to 1997 when he joined ABC Companies. He wore several hats at the ABC Florida location before taking a position as the parts manager for the Western region. After six years in the Western region, Wells worked on the ABC Greyhound and Van Hool refurbishment projects for three years.

In 2014, he joined CH Bus Sales as their parts director. While with CH Bus Sales, Wells helped to expand and improve their operations and service levels. He says, “I am now excited to be a part of the team at Temsa North America.”

Deniz Cetin is the Temsa North America country manager. Cetin has more than 15 years of experience in the motorcoach industry, 11 years with Temsa. He is responsible for Temsa’s North American market as well as Central and South America. Cetin played a big role in establishing Temsa North America in the U.S. “Temsa has a lot to offer to the U.S. market and I am very excited about the team we have been building in the U.S. Our plan is to continue to expand our products and services in the U.S. market and stay closer and stronger than ever,” stated Cetin.

New Coach Sales

New Temsa coach sales are doing well. As this is written in early 2019, Temsa North America has both their 45-foot TS 45 coach for sale as well as the popular 35 foot TS 35E. A newer version of the TS 30 is coming and sales will start in the second quarter of 2019. As in the past, the Temsa coaches will use well-regarded components. They will have the features desired by passengers.

Temsa North America is working with customers to provide an attractive price point within the market followed by economy of operation and ongoing support. The new Temsa North American locations will be able to provide the parts, support and service to keep these coaches on the road and earning for their owners.

Pre-Owned Coaches

Pre-owned bus and coach sales will be available at the various Temsa locations. For information, view the details online at temsa.com/us/en/pre-owned.

Temsa Parts Sales

Temsa already has three parts managers working at different locations in the United States to make your parts ordering smooth and efficient. Major parts shipping locations will be located on the West Coast, Midwest and East Coast. This will allow customers to order parts no matter the time of day. Parts orders can be placed by phone at (833) NA-TEMSA [(833)
628-3672] or (407) 807-6950 or online at ­partorders@temsa.com.

Technical Support and Training

Temsa will be offering support and training at customer locations as well as more detailed and formal scheduled sessions at various Temsa locations. Plans are to follow customer deliveries with on-site staff training in their own facilities. This will include “Product Familiarization” training as well as “Preventive Reactive Maintenance” sessions.

Formal training sessions will start in the third quarter of 2019. They will be scheduled at various Temsa locations around the country and will cover various components and systems. Included will be electric and writing, schematics and diagnostics, HVAC systems, suspensions, shock absorbers and air bellows. Information is available by phoning (833) NA-TEMSA or (833) 628-3672. Technical support will be available 24/7.

Customer Support Representatives

As of late March, Temsa already has three customer support representatives on the road. They are located in the West, Midwest and East regions. Two more will come on board soon to provide service for customers located in the Southeast and Southwest regions. In addition to providing support and service,these field tech vans will also carry parts in case customers need any urgent parts.

Temsa Partner Network

In the works is a Temsa partner network. Contracts will be negotiated with independent service providers to support Temsa’s ability to reach customers where they need it the most. These locations and their support are part of Temsa’s plan to become “closer than ever” for their customers. More details will be available in the near future.

Looking Ahead

As this article is being written in March, Temsa is opening their service, support and parts locations. Five initial locations should be open by later in 2019. This includes Orlando, Florida; Egg Harbor, New Jersey; Burlingame, California; and two more locations, one in the Midwest near Chicago and one in the Southwest. Additional locations will be considered for the future and the forthcoming Temsa In addition to the new Temsa locations, parts may be ordered either by phone at (407) 807-6950 or on line at partorders@temsa.com.

Currently, both the 35-foot TS 35E and 45-foot TS 45 coaches are in stock and available to customers. A new 30-foot TS 30 model will be launched in 2019 and sales will start in the second quarter. A battery-electric version of the TS 45 will become available in 2020.

Clearly, Temsa North America shows Temsa’s commitment to the bus market in the United States and Canada.